My Top 10 Favorite Blogs

Kids jumping for Jeff Koons’ Balloon Flower  by Erica Berger

As the end of another semester draws near, I will be taking a blogging break until June.  Should you need a cultural fix before then, I’ve put together my “Top 10 List” of favorite blogs to tide you over.   If you have any comments or ideas for CultureChild, feel free to leave them in the “Comments” section at the end of this post or drop me a note at info@culturechild.org.  Thanks for reading!  GMom

This week’s “Collaborations” pieces: Family Clay Sculptures

During the early winter months, our family joined several other neighborhood families on Saturday mornings for clay workshops at our local community center.   My daughter chose an ocean theme for our family.  We used our imaginations and looked through a book on sea life, sculpted various creations and then glazed them.  A local clay studio fired the pieces and returned them to the community center each week.  

More Ways Cultural Institutions Are Using Tech and Social to Interact with Kids

Part two of a two-part series

The second half of my series on how New York’s cultural institutions are using technology to help kids interact, collaborate and use social media with their families to enhance their experiences with the institutions features Art Babble and The Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Rubin Museum's Annual Himalayan Sleepover for Kids Ages 9 to 12

The sixth annual Rubin Museum kids-only sleepover, Peak Experience VI, will be held June 11 for 9-to12-year-olds. The centerpiece of the event is a simulated climb of Mt. Everest, during which kids try to avoid “snow,” “ice,” “rock” and other avalanche perils on their ascent up the museum’s six-level spiral staircase.  Actual Mount Everest climbers will help teach basic camping, safety, teamwork, and leadership skills.  

The price is $175 per child; $157.50 for members.

Learning Leaders says family engagement equals student success

Learning Leaders, an organization for which I volunteer and support, recently posted this short video on its YouTube channel featuring comments from some of our nation's most influential thought-leaders discussing the correlation between family engagement and student success. 

This week’s “Collaborations” piece: “The Keyhole That Unlocks Pink Sands Beach,” Anonymous

CultureChild: Parent-child Art Projects

I’m on an island vacation this week for my daughter’s spring break, and believe it or not, we are finding lots of creative things to do at the beach—we're taking breaks in the shade to draw, making Origami and creating solar prints with sand dollars, shells, found objects and sun-sensitive paper (using Toysmith's Solar Print Kit).  We've also been building a giant sandcastle.  

Remember how much fun it was to build sandcastles as a kid?  Well, it's still fun.  One gentleman took a shovel to the sand and carved out a giant keyhole.  Almost all the children—locals and tourists—and many of their parents who have visited a certain section of the beach on Harbour Island during the past two days, have contributed to what the kids dubbed “The Keyhole That Unlocks Pink Sands Beach.”  Lots of smaller popup villages made of sand drippings are cropping up around it.  The kids are sure having fun and keeping busy!